Different

"different to", "different than"

--------------------------------



   "Different from" is the construction that no one will object to.

"Different to" is fairly common informally in the U.K., but rare in

the U.S.  "Different than" is sometimes used to avoid the cumbersome

"different from that which", etc. (e.g., "a very different Pamela

than I used to leave all company and pleasure for" -- Samuel

Richardson).  Some U.S. speakers use "different than" exclusively.

Some people have insisted on "different from" on the grounds that

"from" is required after "to differ".  But Fowler points out that

there are many other adjectives that do not conform to the

construction of their parent verbs (e.g., "accords with", but

"according to"; "derogates from", but "derogatory to").



   The Collins Cobuild Bank of English shows choice of preposition

after "different" to be distributed as follows:



                "from"  "to"    "than"

                -----   ----    ------

U.K. writing    87.6    10.8     1.5

U.K. speech     68.8    27.3     3.9

U.S. writing    92.7     0.3     7.0

U.S. speech     69.3     0.6    30.1

There's no wonder I hardly get any work done...

Btw, apologies if I've been a pain in the arse; it really wasn't my intention. Maybe I should stick to the music posts ;0)

Cheers

Jez